That could be a problem as the town weighs a request for a rent reduction.

"If they’re not making much money because of a poor business decision to buy a park for too much money, I’m not sure if that’s our issue," Talerman said of owner Morgan Management.

Acting as the town’s Mobile Home Park Rent Control Board, selectmen have been taking testimony on the residents’ quest to roll back a 33 percent rental spike and reduce the $468 a month rent to $293.

Residents say the rent exceeds the formula used for fair rent, fair operating income and reasonable profit under Massachusetts’ mobile home park law and that shoddy conditions also do not merit the high fee.

Sandra Anderson compared the Easton facility to a slum with deep potholes, unsanitary living conditions and depressed residents that could not sell their units.

Charity Thompson said she visited other parks in the area and found them well maintained and reasonably priced compared to Easton’s.

Conditions in the park "change how you feel about your lot," she said.

"You get depressed when things around you look like they’re in disrepair. Do you think you want to put a lot of money into it?" she asked.

In a letter to the board, Jennifer Reynolds cited the leaks under her porch since she moved into the facility in 2007.

"Every time there is another leak on my street my water lines get full of dirt. I have no cold water in my kitchen. There is sand in the back of my toilet and hot water heater," she wrote.

Morgan Management has submitted more than 1,000 pages of documents that include income and operating expenses and detailed purchases and receipts to support a fair net operating income.

The company’s attorney Robert Kraus said his client was working to correct problems with an onsite wastewater treatment facility, roads and water mains.

He said the park was in full compliance with state mandates and was moving forward with improvements that would take a year to implement and cost between $300,000-$400,000.

Kraus said the park was also in litigation against the former engineer who designed the system and was hoping for a mediated resolution after a pre-trial conference in September.

But, Kraus added, he might object to testimony from the residents that he considered "hearsay or prejudicial.

"Anybody can say anything they want on a piece or paper. It’s the crucible of examination, which is the basis of our system, that leads to whether you as the jury and judges believe them," he said.

Page 2 of 2 - Talerman said the vast majority of rent control issues brought before boards in Massachusetts were requests by park owners to hike rents rather than by tenants to slash existing ones.

He said he did not see a tool in the rent control act and or local bylaw that tied park conditions to a rental decrease.

Talerman said "net operating income" is based on a percentage of return and not the conditions in the park.

"We’ve seen some of the books and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture for this particular park," he said.

"I think that’s the challenge we have going forward."

Selectmen said they understood the frustration of residents and supported their petition to create a rent control board and their desire for a rent decrease.

But they said they also had to consider whether or not a rent decrease would result in Morgan Management defaulting on its debt.